


From Sunnydale to Colindale

by WhatIsMagic



Series: The Apartments of Heroes [1]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-21 00:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1530554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatIsMagic/pseuds/WhatIsMagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After defeating the First and closing up the Sunnydale Hellmouth for good, the Scoobies go on a vacation. Their peaceful break is short lived though, when a new Hellmouth in England is activated.</p><p>Little do they know, Angel Investigations has also figured this out and have decided to situate their company on the Hellmouth, after the battle at Wolfram and Hart.</p><p>Both teams make their way to a town called Colindale, where demonic activity thrives and the gang find themselves in a bigger mess than ever before.</p><p>Meanwhile, Lucy Greyson and her siblings are adjusting to their new home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Room With A View

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is my first fic and so I would appreciate literally any advice you have to offer. This is all set in 2005, when Sam leaves Stanford to find Jessica's killer and about two years after the destruction of Sunnydale. The pairings will be a surprise but I guarantee you'll like them. Also, this is NOT a story where everything is focused only on the original characters such as Lucy- I wanted some original characters in the background to observe the strange supernatural stuff going on.  
> As for the disclaimer stuff, I do not own any of the character from the TV shows. Enjoy!

 

**_GREYSON'S HOUSE, OXFORD _**

 

After hauling a particularly large suitcase down the stairs (which was no doubt, full of books) Lucy put her hands on her hips and proudly looked around at her now almost empty house. She was usually very nostalgic about moving houses that she had lived in for a while but this time, she was ecstatic about her new home. Her brother's boss had offered them a place in London as it was closer to his office and that way, Alex didn't have to leave her at home to look after their younger sister, Evie, and the rest of the house. They took the offer without a second thought. For the umpteenth time, she flicked through the brochures for the Hartford Park apartments and couldn't help but gape at how amazing it all looked. It had a spa and a gym, for crying out loud! As she continued to read through the descriptions of the place, a tall shadow loomed over her.

"You know, it's funny that you think one heavy suitcase is worth all of your belongings." Lucy whipped around and found herself looking into a pair of mischievous hazel eyes like her own. Alex. " What makes you say that?" Lucy asked her older brother innocently.

In return, he raised his eyebrow at her and with a sigh, she unwillingly walked to the huge pile of bags in the living room. Alex leaned on the wall and his fingers traced a tiny drawing of a cat. Evie had drawn it only months ago and yet it was still a memory to him.

Lucy noticed this as she picked up her clothes trunk and couldn't help but take an opportunity to tease him, "Cat got your tongue?" she asked and to her surprise, he didn't even make a snarky comment. He looked...thoughtful- which was odd for Alex- as if he were planning to tell her a big secret.

"Do you want to move to London?" he asked cautiously.

She was a little thrown by his question, "Lex, I've been celebrating these past few weeks. I'm excited about moving!"

"How excited?"

Lucy folded her arms. "Like my stomach is going to shoot out of my mouth."

"Doesn't that excitement feel a bit extreme?"

She didn't know what to say to that. After a second of silence, she replied, "I think you need a good break from work. You're talking crazy."

But as soon as he heard the words "break from work" his expression darkened. "I didn't mean it like that, Lex." she said quickly, "I just meant that you need to relax a little bit. We're getting along fine by ourselves."

"That doesn't change the fact that our parents abandoned us." he almost growled and Lucy flinched at the reminder, "If they had even stopped to think about us, just once, that itself would be a miracle."

Shaking away her own insecurities, Lucy walked to Alex and looked deep into his eyes, " We chose to live this way and we can't keep going if you think about them. They're dead to us."

"How can you..?" but Lucy waved him off.

" I do this for you and Evie. Nobody else. Our parents couldn't give a damn as to whether we were safe, healthy or even alive. Only we care and that's enough for me." she finished triumphantly, "Now help me with Evie's toy box."

Before Alex could say another word, Lucy dumped their younger sister's extremely heavy treasure chest into his arms.

 

 

 


	2. Back in Business

**_SUMMER'S RESIDENCE, ROME_  **

 

"Angel." Andrew answered, a fierce look in his eyes that was hardly ever present.

"Spike." said Dawn, practically spitting out her best friend's name.

"ANGEL." Andrew enunciated.

"SPIKE." Dawn matched his voice perfectly.

"Spike is a rapist."

"Angel doesn't have a permanent soul!"

"Angel!"

"Spike!"

"Angel!"

"Spike!"

"Buffy!" the blonde Slayer piped in as she walked into the living room with grocery bags. Dawn and Andrew whipped their heads around to face her, they had been so caught up in their argument that they hadn't even noticed the doors unlocking. As soon as the pair spotted her, they started talking over each other.

" Oh, you're back!" Andrew exclaimed, "We were just talking about..."

"Angel or Spike?" Dawn demanded, in a tone that scared even Buffy.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Buffy sighed and put down her shopping.

"Either them or the Immortal." Immediately, Buffy blushed and took a swipe at Dawn and missed.

" That was one time!" she protested.

"You mean three weeks."

"No..."

Andrew, being helpful as ever, forgot his promise to Angel and spilled the beans, "It's a shame you were busy with the Immortal when Spike and Angel came calling." he said thoughtfully.

Dawn's glare of warning did not register with Andrew until he saw Buffy's look of confusion.

"Angel and Spike were here?" she asked.

"Oh crap." Andrew muttered.

"In my defense, I wasn't the one who saw them." Dawn pointed accusingly at Andrew.

"Gee thanks, Dawnie." he said and then turned to the angry Slayer, "I can explain. Angel and Spike came here to check up on you with a little healthy competition on their minds but you were out clubbing with the Immortal, so they kinda just left."

" And you were planning to tell me this, when?" Buffy was now addressing both of them.

"Actually, Angel told me to keep it a secret from you and Dawn happened to have overheard the conversation, so she knew they came." said Andrew, desperately hoping Buffy wouldn't suddenly snap his neck.

"Besides, Buffy," Dawn consoled, "You would have freaked and this vacation was generally for a non-freaked-Buffy-who-deserves-a-break-from-the-supernatural."

Buffy looked still unimpressed but before she could ask anything else, there was knock on the door.

As soon as the door revealed a gaunt-faced Giles, her heart sank. He sheepishly took off his glasses and started to nervously clean them with his sweater. "Buffy. I'm so sorry to be disturbing you on your vacation but..."

Buffy sighed, "...but there's another apocalypse."

"Not just yet. The Watchers' Council have informed me of strange supernatural activity found near the outskirts of London. They suspect another Hellmouth has been activated."

Dawn came over, her eyes wide. " I thought England had been clear of demons."

"It was. Until a Watcher in Cornwall was attacked by powerful dark magic."

Buffy froze. "Willow?"

Giles immediately shook his head, " Willow has been completely clean, but we do know who it was."

"Amy." Buffy muttered.

"Yes." Giles looked at her sadly, " It seems now that she poses a much greater threat than her mother did."

Buffy tilted her head. "Can't we get some other Slayers to do it? Last time I checked, the Strong Girl population was the size of Cuba." 

Giles shook his head, "It's a lot more personal with Amy. She's doing this because of what we did to her last year and nobody except for Willow is more experienced than she in dark magic right this moment.

"What about...?"

"Buffy." he said more persistently. This time, the petite Slayer stopped and stared at him blankly. "We have to go, **now**."

Buffy sighed and nodded slowly, "I get it." she then turned to her worried younger sister, "Dawn, we need to pack up. The world needs our help."

Dawn eyes grew wide with excitement, "I've always wanted to go to England! I heard they have this museum where they store every book that has ever been published, and they have..."

Buffy yawned and cut off her little sister, "Yeah okay, tell me on the flight tomorrow. If I'm gonna be fighting evil again, I need my beauty sleep."


	3. Goodbye L.A.

** _ALLEYWAY, LOS ANGELES_ **

 

The night breathed the silent victory of the dead champions who fought bravely in battle. Very few had survived, in fact, only four lasted through the entire brawl. Three men and one woman.

The woman was the most conspicuous of them all, with a blue body that was covered with armour. One man had dark skin, darker than the night that approached them. He limped as one of his companions, a handsome, platinum-blond haired man, supported him with relaxed ease. 

The other man was Angel. His dark eyes searched the night for any potential danger. Not that they couldn't deal with any threat.

He heard the light steps of someone running towards them and shouting.

"Hey! Wait up!" Connor yelled but he wasn't far off and his enhanced ability ensured that he would catch up with them. " I'm coming with you guys. I want to help."

Angel turned to his son with an tired expression, " Go back to college, Connor. This isn't your life."

But Spike countered his argument easily, " Don't be such a bloody wanker. The sprog wants to come? Let him. We could do with another pair of hands." he winked at Connor and he smiled back in return.

Angel was too worn out to debate about this and just nodded in response. Connor came over to support Gunn who was almost fully conscious.

"So where are we actually going?" Gunn asked. He had injured his spine badly and could hardly walk but he still wanted to do something.

"No idea." came Angel's reply, "We can't go back to the Hyperion. It's not worth it. And I'm done with L.A."

"I suggest we find shelter before we decide where to go next." Illyria offered, her face expressionless as always. Angel looked at her, only to be reminded of Fred, then Wesley and of course, Cordelia. He wondered sadly how many of his friends had died now.

"Well, if you happen to have a few spare bucks, Illyria, I'll be happy to do just that." he replied, his sarcasm sounding bitter. They walked through the dark alleyways, not realizing they were being followed. Connor was the first to notice the gentle hesitant footsteps. He gave Spike and Angel a look, they had noticed it too and stopped.

"Oh, don't stop. Stalking people gives me pleasure." Angel tensed at the voice. Whistler.

" This better be worth my time." he warned as the man came into view.

"Oh definitely." he smiled warmly at Angel and Connor who instinctively stood protectively in front of his father, "I see your parental skills have improved, Angelus." Immediately, Connor moved a few paces away from Angel. Whistler furrowed his eyebrows, "Yeah, keep working on that."

Spike scoffed and lit a cigarette, casually tapping his foot. Whistler then addressed Spike, " As for you, William the Bloody, I see Miss Summers has changed you for the better." Spike coughed and choked on his drag.

When Spike had recovered a little, he growled at Whistler, "Don't go by that name anymore, mate. And yeah, I would have gotten the soul all over again just for Buffy."

Angel's eyes narrowed a bit at the mention of Buffy but ignored the familiar sense of jealousy building up inside him. "Go on, tell us why you're here."

Whistler replied, " I've come to offer you a new job."

"I'm good thanks." Angel snapped.

"Ah, but it's in London."

"Don't really care where it is."

"On a **Hellmouth**." he whispered so that only Angel and Spike could hear.

"There are no Hellmouths in London." Spike said quietly.

"Well, now there is. Freshly opened for business. Unless you can get there in time before the witch can complete her spell, which is highly unlikely considering a flight to England takes about 7 hours whereas she needs to do the ritual before midnight. Which is about now-ish." Whistler gave them a serious look.

Angel frowned and gestured Whistler to the sidewalk, " Why would Willow suddenly open a Hellmouth? She hasn't..."

Whistler shook his head impatiently, " Don't jump to your own conclusions, Liam. Willow is still peaceful in her practice. It is Amy Madison that you should be concerned about."

Angel scrunched up his forehead in confusion, "Who's Amy Madison?" but Whistler shook his head once more and looked at them all sympathetically. "Long story. Don't want to explain right now. All I can tell you is that the Watchers' Council wishes for you to investigate this further. They will tell you where to go."

"But what if.."

"You will know what to do." Whistler amicably patted his shoulder. With that, he disappeared into the night.

Spike walked to Angel and looked around the alley, "Where'd he go?"

"Back to heaven, I guess." Angel then stood up straight. "Right boys..." Illyria cocked her head, "...and you. We've got a job to do."

"So where are we going?" Connor asked.

"Home. Sweet. Home." Spike breathed, recalling his visits to Sunnydale.

"Yeah." Angel muttered.

 


	4. Just Settling In

 

_** FOURTH FLOOR, HARTFORD PARK, COLINDALE  ** _

"I still can't believe you ate that pie after it fell on the floor." Lucy folded her arms and gave her brother one of her best 'foreboding looks'. Alex just shrugged and tucked in to his apple pie like it wasn't three days old and unrefrigerated.

"Five second rule, Lucy." he told his little sister, who still looked unimpressed.

"More like twenty."

"I won't take that tone from you, young lady." he joked, pretending to be authoritative. Lucy just rolled her eyes and sat down on her new couch. It was so nice to finally move in to her dream apartment. Even if it was one of the cheapest on the site.

Suddenly, Alex's phone rang, scaring Lucy into oblivion. It was a horrible, blood-curdling scream. Alex knew that Lucy hated it, which gave him all the more reason to keep the ringtone. "Alex, I swear. If I hear that again... " but he had already answered the phone and he gave her a patronizing wink.

"Hello? Oh, Mr Wilson." his grin faded, " Yes, I've just moved in today. Thank you. You... what? But I've just moved in! I was going to do double shift tomorrow..."

Lucy frowned and looked sadly at her older brother. Mr Wilson, his boss, was one of the grumpiest men she had ever known. He was constantly bothering Alex, complaining that he should be going to work full time. She wanted to defend her brother, they needed the money and he could only work part time because he had to go to college during the day. But if it wasn't for Mr Wilson, Alex would still be struggling with the rent.

"...Yes. Alright. I will, sir. Bye." Alex forced a smile for Lucy and picked up his paperwork, stuffing everything into his briefcase. "He wants me to work today because Mary's ill today. I'm sorry we can't hang out today, I'll make it up to you..."

Lucy kissed his cheek, "Don't, Lex. I'll be fine. Get to work and I'll take Evie to the park later. We can hang out next week." she smiled brightly at him.

He returned the smile and took an apple from the fridge. " I'll take you to watch a movie tonight. I'll ask Laura to look after Evie."

"I'd like that." she replied.

"Go make friends with the neighbours, maybe they can lend us some money." Alex teased, as Lucy threw a cushion at his head.

"Lex!"

"Love you too. Bye!" he ran out of the door with Lucy on his trail, almost colliding with someone walking the opposite way. He was a tall- extremely tall-young man with brown hair and a ruggedly handsome face. "Sorry!"  Alex apologized and ran off again.

Lucy laughed and shook her head at her brother's clumsiness.

 

The guy that Alex almost knocked over approached her, " Was that your brother?" he asked, in an American accent.

"Yeah. He's a bit of a klutz."

"Yeah, older brothers tend to inherit the klutz gene." They both laughed and he held out his hand, " Well, hey, I'm Sam. I live just next door."

She shook his outstretched hand, which were really big compared to her dainty little piano fingers. And very rough. "Lucy." then her curiosity got the better of her, "Ah, are you from around here?"

"It's my accent, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah, big giveaway."

"I just came over from California actually," he said, tucking his hands into the pocket of his jacket, "After graduating, I thought I might use a change of scenery. Besides, London has so many opportunities open to me. My brother always said that..." as he spoke, Lucy couldn't help but notice how his eyes lit up with enthusiasm.

"So, what about you? Are you in college yet?" he asked her, causing her to blush a little. She didn't think anyone would ever mistake her for a college student.

"Nope, still in high school. I'm nearly sixteen, though." he looked genuinely surprised at her statement.

"You act pretty mature for a nearly-sixteen-year old. I thought you were at least eighteen."

"How old are you, then? Or am I not allowed to ask?" she teased.

Sam grinned and replied, "Twenty three. But I still feel like a kid."

"Me too." Lucy joked, earning her another comforting smile from Sam.

Their friendly moment was interrupted by another man, emerging from the door opposite the Greysons', "Hate to interrupt, love, but could you take your introductions elsewhere?" he smirked when Lucy whipped around, startled. The owner of the voice was a platinum blond man who looked like a male model. His blue eyes bore into Lucy's as she stepped backwards, knocking into Sam's shoulder in surprise.

"Um, hi. Who are you?" Sam asked, having been composed the whole time.

The man slowly turned his eyes from Lucy to Sam, " I'm your neighbour. Hi."

When Lucy had regained herself, she stepped forwards and gave him a mischievous grin. "We can see that. But unless you want to be known as 'neighbour' for the rest of your time here, you might want to give us a name."

"You're a sharp one, aren't you, Nibblet?" the man stared at her.

"Nibblet?" Lucy scrunched her forehead in confusion. Her neighbour, however, realised his mistake and corrected himself. "Sorry, you remind me of my... younger sister. Anyways, the name's Sp-William."

"Spwilliam?"

"No," he looked thoroughly annoyed, "My name's William."

Somehow, Lucy didn't believe that was the whole story but she changed the topic after realizing how awkward the conversation was getting. "So... how long have you guys lived here?" she asked, glad to have met her flat mates so soon.

Sam was the first to answer. "Well as you know, I've just moved in. My brother and I travel a lot and there's usually nothing to stay for."

"What do you do?" Lucy felt more comfortable talking to Sam than even looking at William.

 Sam seemed to hesitate for a second but Lucy thought that was just her imagination, "I applied for law school but something came up. My brother decided that it would be best if we spent some time together."

This, to Lucy's annoyance, only made William smirk and mutter something under his breath. Sam had obviously heard it because his ears turned red.

"What about you, _neighbour_?" Lucy asked, trying to not make eye contact with William.

"Got here last week."

"Do you work?" Lucy knew she was prying into other people's affairs now but she was curious.

William's eyes narrowed and he cocked his head to one side, "Yeah I do. I get a good pay and I enjoy doing it. Used to work for a law firm called Wolfram and Hart. Ever heard of it?" Lucy shook her head and he shrugged, "Didn't think so. It's no place for a little girl like you. Full of _demons._ "

Lucy scoffed, "What is that, a metaphor for weed?" She took William's hand and patted it as if she were talking to a child. "Don't take them." Then she turned to Sam, expecting him to look a little less embarrassed from whatever William had said earlier, only to find him very rigid. William also seemed to have noticed as he had raised an eyebrow and looked at Sam as if he was trying to figure him out.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked him, but he was looking at William with, no, not just contempt. Pure, concentrated, suspicious hostility _._

William on the other hand seemed to be pleased about his reaction. "I think Sam here might have had his own dose of demons in this world." she looked at Sam, thinking that she had upset him in some way. But he was looking at William, not her.

 Lucy looked confused and realized that Sam was really angry. Like he wanted to punch William. But to Lucy's relief, he didn't.

Sam faced Lucy only taking his eyes off William for a second to talk to her. The happy-go-lucky guy from just a few minutes ago had disappeared.

"I'll see you around, Lucy." he even managed a small smile but it was gone as soon as he turned around and barged past William.

"Looks like somebody has issues." William muttered when he heard the lift doors closing.

"You really think he was actually on drugs?" Lucy asked worriedly, which only made William laugh.

"No, ducks. I was referring to actual demons. Things that a little lady like you should stay away from." his face became dark and shadowed, causing Lucy to take a hesitant step back to her door.

"I-I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about,w- why...?" Lucy stammered, but William waved her off. "Just take my word of warning. Something evil is brewing and I wouldn't want my neighbours, however unfriendly," he nodded in the direction Sam went, "to die."

Lucy didn't know how to respond. She was sure that this guy was crazy, or maybe seriously religious and yet unorthodox, judging by the unnatural colour of his hair. So she just nodded and grabbed the door handle of her new home.

"Sure. Okay. This is me, being alive, not dying. Nice meeting you." Then she shut the door before he could say anything else.

"Great." she mumbled to herself, "My new neighbours are crazy."


	5. New Home, New Office

**_SEVENTH FLOOR, HARTFORD PARK, COLINDALE_ **

 

Buffy was ecstatic.

  
Not only did she and Dawn have their own place in the block, but their new workplace was a luxury penthouse on the top floor of the building. The Watchers' Council really did know how to spend their money. Even Andrew's room was paid for by the IWC. She lay down on her new bed and kicked her shoes off, snuggling into the soft duvet.

"Someone's fitting in just fine." Dawn snickered and dragged Buffy's bags into her room.

Buffy closed her eyes and smiled, "I think I almost forgot what happiness was until now."

Dawn felt relieved that her sister could be this happy for once, even if it would only be short-lived. Willow, Xander, Giles, the Potentials and even Faith had found spare apartments on the site.

"Oh, by the way Buffy, Giles said that there are a lot of young college Watchers training here..."

Buffy grew a little suspicious, "Your point is...?"

"Well, since you're busy with all the slaying and stuff, maybe I can ask one the Watchers to help me continue my Slayerette training and to make friends before the new term at the college starts." Buffy looked slightly sceptical. "Please, Buffy? Purely for self defence. And to hang out with people my age."

Buffy sighed and started to unpack. "I don't know, Dawnie. We have to take some things into consideration. If you suddenly get dragged into the life of your Typical Watcher, what is your lifespan, then?"

"I don't care. It's my life and I like it this way." Buffy rolled her eyes. Typical of Dawn to pull that one on her.

"You really want to, huh?" Dawn nodded eagerly. "Fine. Go socialize."

Dawn hugged her and squealed, "I love you Buffy! I knew you'd understand." She was about to leave the room when Buffy pulled her back in.

"After you help me unpack."

Dawn looked slightly sheepish, "Oh yeah, sure. Got it."

**********

 _Free at last._ Dawn thought as she shut the apartment door behind her. With a life as crazy as hers, a walk in the park seemed alien, almost surreal. _Now, where should I go first? Ooh, I'm pretty sure there's a library down here next to Colindale University, I'll go see if there are any old mystical texts. This is England after all._ Her thoughts were interrupted when she realized that she had already gotten into the elevator and had not pressed any buttons.  _Dawnie, focus._ she told herself,  _This is still a Hellmouth after all, you can't afford to lose your sense of awareness._ You can take the girl out of Sunnyhell but it never leaves the girl. 

 

Just as she had reached the 2nd floor (her apartment had been on the 12th floor), the elevator stopped and Dawn couldn't help but roll her eyes at the fact that some people were so lazy they couldn't walk down two flights of stairs. A girl around her age with a toddler entered as the elevator door opened and Dawn, although she was not the stereotypical Valley Girl, couldn't help but notice the girl's outfit.

 

"Hey," she said with a little self-conscious wave and a dazzling Californian smile. The girl looked at her with a brief look of surprise but rewarded her with an equally charming smile and greeting. 

 

"Just to let you know, I LOVE your top, where did you get it?" Now it was Dawn's turn to be surprised; the girl had practically read her mind. She was just about to compliment her outfit. 

 

Nonetheless, she replied for the sake of making a new friend around here. "Oh, this thing? I used to live in LA, where this is look is basically everywhere." 

 

"No way!" she gawped, "You're from America as well?"

 

Dawn scrunched up her brows in confusion as they walked out of the elevator together, "Uh yeah, I just moved in with my family... and extended family." she added since it was not a total lie. "Why, did you meet some of them?"

 

The girl nodded, "Mmhm, a guy called Sam who lives on my floor. Do you know him?"

 

"Yeah... No. I don't know a Sam. But it would be nice to meet him. Is he hot?" she asked playfully.

 

"Oh he is a total sex god." both girls giggled at that. "I'm Lucy, by the way." she offered her hand which Dawn gladly shook. "I'm Dawn."

 

"So are you off exploring the city today, Dawn?" she asked. 

 

Dawn shook her head, "Nope, I'm gonna check out the local library. I'm a total nerd."

 

"Oh my god, so am I!" Lucy squealed, "I can just tell, we are going to be the best of friends. I can take you there if you want? Oh, after I drop my sister off at her daycare centre of course. It's right next to the University."

 

"Yeah, totally!" Dawn couldn't believe her luck. Day one and she had already made a friend. Boy, if only people in Sunnydale had been this friendly, she'd think twice before planning to blow it up.

 

It was a beautiful day, the rain from the night before was spread evenly across surfaces of cars, buildings and plants alike, but the sun shone just bright enough to scatter its light on the dew drops, creating a wonderfully crystalline landscape. As the girls walked towards their destination, little did they know that someone, or rather something, was following them, unnoticed despite the unusually bright scenery, thirsting for fresh blood. 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
